2025 Ironman 70.3 World Championship heads to Marbella, Spain

Ironman has announced the location of the 2025 Ironman 70.3 World Championship – for the first time Spain will host the championship event. Set in the Costa del Sol region in the southern part of the country, Marbella promises to be a popular spot for athletes and their supporters thanks to the warm weather and tourism opportunities. Ironman has hosted a 70.3 race in Marbella since 2018.

“Marbella receives a high number of tourists throughout the year and is known as an international destination for sporting events thanks to its diversity of offerings, warmth of climate, and excellent tourism activities,” Ironman wrote in a release today. “The city has numerous sports facilities, including world-class golf courses, tennis courts, soccer fields and several marinas and has hosted multiple national and international sporting events.”

“Located on southern Spain’s Costa del Sol, Marbella is flanked by the ocean and the mountains, and is often deemed one of the most beautiful and glamorous locations in Spain,” today’s release continued. “This Andalusian city is a spectacular host for athletes and supporters, thanks to its ideal climate and Mediterranean seafront promenade views. The annual average temperature is around 18.5º C/65.3º F, with 320 days of sunshine a year providing for a perfect tourist and sporting destination. The city is 35 miles from the international airport of Malaga, making it easy to welcome athletes from all over the world.”

You can find more information about Marbella here.

Ironman estimates that there will be over 6,000 athletes competing in the two days of racing.

Facts and figures: history is made at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship

Ironman 70.3 World Championship history

The inaugural world championship event took place in Clearwater, Florida in 2006 and took place there for five years. The event then moved to Henderson, Nevada for three years (2011 to 2013) before beginning a global rotation. Since then the event has taken place in:  Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, Canada (2014); Zell am See-Kaprun, SalzburgerLand, Austria (2015); Queensland, Australia (2016); Chattanooga, Tennessee (2017); Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa (2018); Nice, France (2019); St. George, Utah (2021-2022); and Lahti, Finland (2023). 

This year’s race will take place in Taupo, New Zealand on Dec. 14-15.